Gamer bandits steal Taiko No Tatsujin drum from Aichi arcade

Rhythm game and Japanese game center mainstay Taiko No Tatsujin (Taiko Master) was the victim of a daring daylight theft on 29 April in Kitanagoya City, Aichi Prefecture.

For those unfamiliar with the classic game, it utilizes a mock traditional Japanese drum, or “taiko,” to play along with contemporary pop songs and more.

Security camera footage caught a pair of youths entering the unidentified game area and casing out a Taiko No Tatsujin unit. While one played the game the other inspected the drum and loosened whatever was connecting it to the game machine.

When the drum was free, they covered it with some garbage bags and carried it way without anyone noticing.

A tragic fate for one of the sweetest, most innocent, and universally loved games around and news of this savage desecration of one of its machines reverberated across the Internet.

“And in the middle of the day? That is too bold.”“Am I the only one that doesn’t understand why they would take one of those drums?”“They might try to pawn it off on Mercari” [a Japanese online flea market]“They didn’t even seem to care about the camera. Scary.”“Do they think the game is inside the drum or something?”

The motives of the pair are unclear but @tori_bird_pata, the person who tweeted the video, asks that everyone retweet the clip and contact them if they have any further information about the incident.

The offenders might post images of themselves playing the taiko on social media, soif you see anyone online playing a Taiko No Tatsujin drum in a place other than a proper arcade, be sure to let @tori_bird_pata know.

And while we help in the search to track down these two and their ill-gotten taiko, let’s take a moment to remember all the good times that true Taiko No Tatsujins have brought us over the years.